walterbibikow
BANNED
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2022
- Messages
- 959
- Reaction score
- -4
- Country
- Location
Clouds fill the Chenab Valley beneath the world’s highest railway bridge in northern Jammu and Kashmir on Aug. 30, 2022. AAKASH HASSAN FOR FOREIGN POLICY
REASI, Jammu and Kashmir—Soon the world’s highest railway bridge will open in India’s northernmost state, connecting the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country—75 years after independence.
Until now, there was only one treacherous road, National Highway 44, that connected the isolated Kashmir Valley with the rest of India. The railway link, however, is considered a game-changer that will bring economic prosperity to the region and give Indian troops year-round overland access to the valley as well as the Chinese border region beyond it—areas that otherwise remain cut off for most of the winter.
In the absence of reliable surface transport, crossing the rugged terrain of Kashmir in winter was a daunting task for Indian troops. On many occasions, convoys of Indian soldiers have been stranded on the highway after inclement weather caused landslides. Moreover, the opening of a rail link would reduce the government’s expenditures, as transporting logistics to the Indian Army would be much cheaper in comparison to the aerial route, which is currently the only option available in winter.
However, rather than being a “symbol of prosperity”—as envisioned by the Indian government—many Kashmiris are skeptical about the purpose of the bridge’s construction given the disputed status of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Kashmir, which is one of the most militarized places in the world, is the focus of a United Nations-recognized territorial dispute between India and Pakistan. In 1947, when India was divided along religious lines after the British withdrew from the country, Kashmir was separated into two parts, with India controlling approximately 55 percent of the total land while Pakistan held 30 percent and China controlled the remaining 15 percent from the northeast side of the Ladakh region.
Today, Kashmiris fear that the railway bridge could provide an easy corridor for New Delhi to exert control over their land by sending more troops and military equipment whenever it chooses to.
The project, announced in 2002 by then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was declared a matter of “national importance,” aimed at accelerating the region’s socioeconomic development, promoting national integration, and (more importantly) strengthening India’s “security infrastructure.”
Constructed at the whopping cost of 14.86 billion Indian rupees (around $182.4 million), the rail bridge is a part of the 69-mile Banihal-Katra railway link in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The nearly 1-mile-long bridge, which is being built at a height of almost 1,200 feet, is around 114 feet taller than the Eiffel Tower. Once completed, it will be the tallest rail bridge in the world.
The bridge is being built by Mumbai-based infrastructure firm Afcons Infrastructure and Konkan Railway Corporation.
Rashmi Ranjan Mallick, deputy chief engineer of the project, told Foreign Policy that building the bridge was the toughest job Konkan Railway has ever carried out, and it took around 2,200 people to complete the task.
“Building the bridge was the most difficult mission. We had to face a lot of hurdles in terms of the harsh climate and topography,” Mallick said.
Mallick said the bridge weighs about 30,000 metric tons (or around 66 million pounds).
“The hardest part is done. Currently, we are laying the railway tracks to connect the bridge with the nearest stations,” he added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the completion of the final arch of the bridge last year. On Twitter, Modi wrote: “Indians’ capability and confidence are today presenting an example to the world. This construction work not only shows India’s increasing strength in modern engineering and technology but also is an example of the country’s changed work culture.”
For the Indian state, the bridge is an engineering marvel; for the majority of Kashmiris, it is a pathway for India to cement its grip over the Himalayan region.
The apprehension of Kashmiris increased after August 2019, when the Modi government unilaterally stripped the state of Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomous status and brought it directly under the central government’s control. In the past three-and-a-half years, New Delhi has implemented several proposals, including the settlement of non-Kashmiris in the valley, which many people see as an effort to transform India’s only Muslim-dominated region into one with a Hindu majority.
According to one of the new laws, anyone who has resided in Kashmir for 15 years or has studied in the territory for seven years and has passed certain examinations will get residency rights and become eligible for government jobs.
Since the new laws came into effect, some Kashmiris are now drawing parallels between Kashmir and Palestine, fearing that India is replicating what they call the “Israeli model of occupation” by bringing Hindus from other states of India to settle in the valley.
Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of a local English newspaper in Kashmir and author of A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370, argues that the new laws implemented in Kashmir provide “a pathway … for replicating the Israeli model of occupation and colonisation of the West Bank in Kashmir towards disempowerment and dispossession of the locals, particularly Kashmiri Muslims, to exercise hegemonic control through new settlers.”
Fearful of losing their homeland, Kashmiris tend not to see the railway link in isolation. There is a general perception that instead of bringing economic prosperity to the region, India is prioritizing the railway link so it will be easy for its army to have all-weather connectivity with Kashmir, which, Kashmiris believe, is part of a larger effort to permanently transform the region’s demographics.
For the Indian military, facing an ongoing border dispute with China that has flared recently in eastern Ladakh, seeking efficient land connectivity with the region is essential to supply arms and ammunition to both Ladakh—near the Chinese border—and the valley.
Retired Maj. Gen. S.P. Sinha told Foreign Policy that the bridge holds “great strategic significance” for the mobility of Indian troops and artillery from the rest of India to Kashmir and the Ladakh region.
"Road connectivity has always been an issue for the army to travel to Kashmir during winters. Once the railway starts, it will be more convenient for the Indian troops to commute to Kashmir and Ladakh,” Sinha said
Apart from taking all the safety measures common to bridges, such as building for earthquake-proofing and wind resistance, the construction companies have also prepared for militant attacks, ensuring that the pillars of the bridge are not vulnerable to explosions. The pillars are made of special thick, blast-proof steel and can absorb TNT blasts. “Given the significance of this bridge, we are leaving no loose ends. We have built the bridge keeping in mind all the aspects, including its strength to withstand any blast,” Mallick said.
Sinha added that having all-weather connectivity to the northern region would prove detrimental for what he called “Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism in Kashmir,” adding, “Having 365 days of connectivity with the valley will be a big advantage for us to face any threat from the neighboring country.”
China is also becoming a major concern. In addition to working on the railway project, the Indian government is also rushing to complete another important project—the Zoji La tunnel near snowbound Sonmarg in central Kashmir. The roughly 8-mile-long, two-lane tunnel would provide all-weather connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh near India’s border with China.
Sinha, who served in Ladakh during his tenure in the army, said the Zoji La tunnel is as important as the railway project because of China’s presence on the disputed border.
“The railway will connect Jammu with Kashmir, and the tunnel will connect Kashmir with Ladakh. So both the projects have tremendous significance to see defense forces moving up to China in the north,” he said.
A goat is seen at a viewpoint overlooking the new Chenab bridge in northern Jammu and Kashmir on Aug. 30, 2022. AAKASH HASSAN FOR FOREIGN POLICY
Sinha said apart from having more travel options, railway connectivity would also cut costs for the military.
“During my service, we were using an IL-76 airplane for transporting logistics for the army in winters,” Sinha said. “It was costlier than the supply we used to receive via road during summer season. So the railway connection will also save a lot of money to the government as well.”
Contrary to Sinha’s assertions, Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a political analyst and prominent scholar of human rights and international law, said the new rail bridge is akin to the Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel (the current national highway) that India constructed for year-round surface transport between 1954 and 1956 to get easy access into Kashmir from the rest of India.
“Before the construction of the tunnel, India adopted a very mild approach towards the Kashmir dispute,” Hussain noted, explaining that India initially sought “to resolve the issue through U.N.-passed resolutions. But once the tunnel was constructed and they were able to move their army and artillery freely, their behavior changed.”
Hussain contends that after strengthening its grip over Kashmir and Ladakh after the opening of the Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel, India violated all international norms and declared Kashmir an “integral part” of its territory.
“I think the opening of the railway link is an extension of that grip that India holds over Kashmir and Ladakh,” he added. “And with the China-India faceoff at the Ladakh border at the pinnacle, the opening of the railway link will provide some relief for the Indian Army in terms of mobility.
Other residents were blunter: “[Kashmiris] know why the government of India has put so much effort and money into this railway project,” said Irfan, a University of Kashmir student studying political science, who wished to use only his first name, fearing reprisals. “They only want to provide a safe corridor for its army and people to come to Kashmir and ascertain its power over us.”
Near the construction site, locals in the Reasi district—which is predominantly Hindu—told Foreign Policy that the rail link is going to bring prosperity and better connectivity for their hilly region.
Rajinder Kumar—an assistant professor of psychology in Government General Zorawar Singh Memorial Degree College, Reasi—said the bridge will contribute to the region’s economic development and help provide better transportation accessibility.
“The railway project has given employment opportunities to many youth in the district while many people have opened shops near the site to earn their livelihood,” Kumar said. “However, that being a hilly area, the construction of railway has disturbed the ecological balance in the district.”
Sunil Kumar, a local resident who works with Afcons Infrastructure as a designer on the project, said the area is already turning into a tourist spot since the completion of the bridge.
“People from across the country are visiting the place to see the highest railway bridge in the world. It has given a real boost to the tourism sector of Reasi,” said Kumar, who has been associated with the project since 2015.
As the opening of the bridge approaches, the Jammu and Kashmir region remains divided. Although much of the population in Jammu sees the project as a pathway to prosperity and there is no doubt that the railway line will also provide easier transport links for the people of Kashmir to travel outside the valley—especially for apple growers to ferry their produce to big Indian markets on time—decades of distrust between Kashmir and New Delhi have left Kashmiris cynical about the real purpose of this railway line. Rather than an engine of economic growth, they see the development as yet another method for India to strengthen its control over the disputed region.
@FOOLS_NIGHTMARE @waz @Dalit @Primus @Windjammer @Areesh @beijingwalker @Beast @etylo @GiantPanda @retaxis @SIPRA @Bilal9 @Abu Shaleh Rumi @bluesky @hussain0216
How India’s New Bridge to Kashmir Divided a Region
An expensive infrastructure project will bring economic benefits, but Kashmiris fear it will mean more military domination and demographic change.
foreignpolicy.com
